The invention herein pertains to dispensing pellets used in pellet rifles and pistols and particularly pertains to a dispenser which can be worn on the belt of the user for convenience.
Target practice using air and spring operated pellet guns in recent years has become increasingly popular. Many pellet guns require a single pellet to be inserted each time after the gun is fired. Shooters in the past have often carried pellets in a loose fashion within their pockets or container. Some mechanical devices have also been tried with varying degrees of success for loading pellets directly into air operated guns. However, it is generally preferred to load pellet guns and the like by hand, especially for single shot rifles and pistols. However, the carrying of loose pellets is troublesome as lead pellets can be easily distorted during handling, making loading difficult and time consuming. Also, a loose pellet requires a certain degree of dexterity to be manually picked up especially if the fingers are cold during winter shooting.
Thus, with the problems associated with the prior pellet loading devices and realizing the needs which currently exist, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a handy pellet dispensing device which can be worn on the shooter""s side for example, on the belt of the shooter.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing device and method of operation which will consistently deliver one pellet at a time, without jamming.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing device which can be loaded with a large number of pellets selected for a particular caliber gun.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing device and method of operation which allows easy loading and trouble-free dispensing.
It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing device which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and purchase.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing device which helps reduce exposure to lead by eliminating excess pellet handling.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by a pellet dispensing device preferably formed from aluminum and stainless steel. The dispensing device includes an outer aluminum housing having a clasp for convenient attachment to the belt of the wearer. A rotatable cylinder formed from aluminum having multiple pellet chambers is contained within the housing and includes a hopper positioned at the top thereof having a sloped bottom which is in communication with the pellet chambers. A threaded cap closes the hopper once the chambers have been loaded. To actuate the pellet dispenser a trigger is pressed which is located within the housing bottom. One pellet is then dispensed at a time through an exit conduit for use as ammunition in an air operated gun. On the bottom of the cylinder a series of detents or depressions are arranged in a circular fashion. A spring loaded sphere is mounted in the bottom of the housing which engages each detent in succession as the cylinder is rotated to insure precise chamber alignment with the exit conduit. To prevent more than one pellet being dispensed at a time, a means to engage a pellet in the form of a coil spring is attached to the trigger. The coil spring passes through an opening in the wall of the exit conduit to engage various sized lead pellets as are utilized from 0.177 to 0.250 caliber, so only one pellet at a time is dispensed.